ᐅ Floor plan for a house with a hipped roof and two full stories

We plan to build a hip-roof house with two full stories, without a basement. The building site is on a southeast-facing slope with a gradient of 1.6m (5.2 feet) over 10m (33 feet). Next to the site are an outbuilding and the parents-in-law’s house. Heating will most likely be a shared wood chip heating system, meaning there will only be a buffer tank inside the house. We currently have two children; the spare room on the upper floor is primarily for storage, but can optionally be used as a third bedroom. Bicycles, garden furniture, and so on can be stored during winter in the existing outbuilding. On the plans, the lower left corner is south. Please provide feedback on my self-designed floor plan.

Thank you for the prompt and interesting feedback:

• I created the plan myself and had it drawn by a designer.
• The staircase goes in the opposite direction, precisely because the space underneath is intended to be a large wardrobe, so there is no issue with the office door.
• A larger sliding door to the living room would unfortunately leave me no space for a big corner bench in the dining area. There should also be a fireplace in either the dining room or the living room...
• Kitchen: only a few wall cabinets are planned, but with some additional ceiling height.
• Refrigerator next to the pantry.
• Pantry: I’m aware of the window issue, still considering it. The same goes for the overall necessity of the pantry. Otherwise, I would have tall cabinets there.
• Living room: corner sofa at bottom and left, TV at top, storage on the right. I agree, furnishing is difficult and not yet fully thought out.
• Utility room/kitchen/toilet/bathrooms are deliberately grouped together. I find this sensible. The small bathroom is for the kids and still needs to be planned, but currently 4.2m² (45 sq ft) in the apartment is sufficient, with the washing machine also located there.
• Lack of storage if a third child: yes, you’re right. Then each room will simply need a large wardrobe.
• Parquet flooring in the office: not decided yet, just shown in the plan for now.
• Technical/utility room is for the buffer tank, washing machine, dryer, large sink, and spare shower.

Storage space is also available in the existing utility building; otherwise, we would consider a basement. Currently, there are no space-consuming hobbies (reading, computer use...), and the entire 175m² (1884 sq ft) house provides plenty of room for active play. The office will also have a large cabinet, e.g., for vacuum cleaner, ironing board, etc. I’m trying to distribute the necessary space without increasing the square meters too much, since eventually the kids will move out... Our original plan was a 135m² (1453 sq ft) bungalow with a basement, entrance, and garage in the basement. Unfortunately, that option is already 50,000 more expensive at the finishing stage than this version. We plan to have everything done professionally, no DIY work, so costs tend to climb quickly if you allow too much space.

Thank you very much for your feedback!

More ideas? 🙄

Hello,

I really like the floor plan overall and would have made some similar comments to the previous posters:

The living room feels a bit small to me unless it is more open to the kitchen/dining area, for example with a larger door or opening.
I would probably have the doors to the WC and utility room open inward into those rooms.

Does the staircase really need a door? It’s already a hallway/entrance area, and there are doors to all the other rooms anyway...

What I’m not sure about is the orientation, especially on the ground floor! You mention it’s a southeast slope—so does that mean it slopes down towards the southeast? Is there any view or at least a sense of openness in that direction? Because the unused rooms are all facing that way if the bottom left corner of the ground floor is south! Generally, it would make more sense if the top left corner faces south instead. Maybe it’s just mixed up? The same applies to the upper floor, which is rotated. Is the top left really south there? It would be more logical (if the site is laid out as I imagine) for the top right corner to face south! But of course, that also depends on how the plot is shaped, where the garden is, and where the street is located...

Best regards,
Traumhaus2013

Yes, the plot slopes down towards the southeast, but there is also a road there, so no special view. The sunlight is more important to me in the dining area than in the living area (TV). Straight ahead (southwest), there is also a neighbor at about 70m (230 feet) distance. The land will be leveled in this direction to create a flat terrace for both the dining room and the living room.

According to our regulations, the bathroom door must open outwards.

rama schrieb:
Yes, the plot slopes down towards the southeast, but there is a road there, so no special view. The sun in the dining area is more important to me than in the living area (TV). Straight ahead (southwest) there is also a neighbor at about 70m (230 feet) distance. The ground will be leveled in this direction to create a flat terrace for the dining room and living room.

By law, our bathroom door must open outwards.

Thanks!

Ah, I see! Then the house is well oriented! As mentioned, it depends on the specific site conditions!

Really, there is a law about that? Where? Our bathroom door inside the house opens inward, as does those in my parents’ house and our current condominium...

Best regards,
Traumhaus2013